A dolphin with a big ‘shark bite’ taken out of its stomach was found washed up on Cornish beach. A meter-long ‘bite’ was taken out if the mammal’s side, making its ribs visible.
The National Oceanic Centre and The Wildlife Trust have been informed of the dolphin carcass.
Authorities have ordered a probe to investigate whether the big wound was the result of a shark bite or was it the result of a collision with a boat.
Dolphins have been depicted in various cultures worldwide. These creatures range in size from the 5.6 ft/50 kg Maui’s dolphin to 31 ft/10 t killer whales. They are characterized by streamlined bodies and two limbs which have modified into flippers. Although dolphins are widespread, their preferred locations include warmer waters of the tropic zones. Most dolphins eat fish and squid, but a few, like the killer whale, feed on large mammals, like seals. They make use of their conical shaped teeth to catch fast moving prey. Nowadays, dolphins face threat from hunting, marine pollution, bycatch, and habitat loss. In Japan, they are hunted during dolphin drive hunting activity.
According to experts, some 21 species of sharks— including the predatory thresher, blue, porbeagle and mako shark—lurk in Cornish waters,. Despite the media hysteria, there has yet to be a widely confirmed great white sighting in British waters. The gentle basking is the most likely shark to be seen off the Cornwall coast.
The stinking carcass was discovered by a man who arrived at the beach with his dog. Jake O’Mahoney, 27, found the carcass on Sunday afternoon while he was walking his dog Beagle Obi.
“It was a gruesome sight and it stank,” Jake told The Sun.
Jake said he had never seen anything like that being washed up on a Cornish beach in all his life.
“The wound looks exactly like a shark bite, it’s round and all the dolphins insides are missing.”
“We have lots of shocks in this area, I do a bit of surfing so I’ve done a bit of research and the only shark I think could be big enough is a mako shark.”
One expert suspected the injury could also be the result of a collision with a boat.
Matt Slater, Marine Awareness Officer at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust said it is likely that the huge wound was created by the sea birds. Slater said the decomposed state of the carcass indicates that the dolphin was dead for some time. He said scavenging sea birds often big holes by pecking away at a dead animal.
“The edges of the hole have many small lines probably created by seagull beaks indicating that this is most likely the cause in this case,” Slater said.
“Volunteers from Cornwall Marine Strandings Network have been out to this carcass and they have recorded and photographed it.”
This is the 11th dolphin to be washed up on a Cornish beach in past few months. A headless carcass of a dolphin was also found in August on Portreath beach in Cornwall. That carcass had puncture wounds and big teeth marks.
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